Regimental copy - British & Commonwealth Military Badge Forum

The Canadian · #1 06-01-23, 10:12 PM

Hi Everyone,

I've spent the last couple days trying to find threads on regimental copies in the forum but i wasnt having success.

I recently purchased a pre 1914 cap badge that has a makers mark but is listed as a regimental copy. The seller is reputable which is why it didn't raise any red flags.

So my question is what exactly is a regimental copy? I just don't know enough about it and would like to know more.

Alan O · #2 07-01-23, 08:40 AM

Welcome to the Forum.

A picture would help. What badge is it and what period is it from?

If it's modern then some regts allowed their ORs tp buy metal badges to replace their a.a ones. A friend of mine served as a Royal Hussar in the late 1980s and told me that the decision to change to PRI bought metal badges was made after a meeting in the NAAFI with the CO when it he agreed that ORs could buy metal badges to wear instead of the a/a ones on their berets which suffered wear on the tank park.

yorkstone · #3 07-01-23, 12:11 PM

I can confirm the Royal Hussars did this I bought said cap badge from there PRI in the 80’s in Germany.

I also bought others at the time whilst based in Germany BAOR.

Regards

Stephen

Luke H · #4 07-01-23, 12:16 PM

Welcome.

The OP says ‘‘pre 1914 cap badge’’, I am intrigued and would also like to see this badge.

The Canadian · #5 07-01-23, 03:21 PM

I can post a picture when I'm back home next week if that works for you. I don't have any photos on my phone because I never thought I'd post a question about it. I was reading through the forum posts about forgeries and copies while waiting at an airport and thought about it more.

The badge in question is the 29th Waterloo Regiment. It had the makers plate for J. R. Gaunt & Sons. It later became the 118 CEF and had its barracks across the street from my grandparents old home.

Frank Kelley · #6 07-01-23, 05:28 PM

Me too!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luke H

Welcome.

The OP says ‘‘pre 1914 cap badge’’, I am intrigued and would also like to see this badge.

Bill A · #7 07-01-23, 06:11 PM

The 29th Waterloo Regiment is a pre-1914 unit. The badge, unfortunately has been copied and flooded the market in the last few years. It would be necessary to see the badge to establish if it is a fake.
The 29th was a "parent" unit and recruited the 111th Bn. The 118th was recruited by the 108th Regiment (a wartime formed unit). Both the 111th and 118th are perpetuated by the Royal Highland Fusiliers today. The lineage is a bit convoluted. From the DHH Lineages entry for the RHF of C: The Scots Fusiliers of Canada originated in Berlin, Ontario on 21 September 1914, when an "eight company regiment of infantry" was authorized to be formed.It was designated the '108th Regiment' on 1 February 1915. It was redesignated: 'The Waterloo Regiment' on 29 March 1920; 'North Waterloo Regiment' on 3 August 1920;'The Scots Fusiliers of Canada' on 15 September 1928; '2nd (Reserve) Battalion, The Scots Fusiliers of Canada' on 5 March 1942; 'The Scots Fusiliers of Canada (Reserve)' on 15 October 1943; and 'The Scots Fusiliers of Canada' on 7 November 1945. The regiment was converted to artillery and redesignated the '54th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment (Scots Fusiliers of Canada), RCA' on 1 April 1946, and converted to infantry and redesignated 'The Scots Fusiliers of Canada' on 1 December 1959. On 26 February 1965, it was amalgamated with 'The Highland Light Infantry of Canada'

The Canadian · #8 07-01-23, 06:34 PM

Thank you Bill A for the really detailed information, I will definitely share the photo.

Though I really appreciate the information, it's been hard trying to verify things. Which is why I officially decided to join the forum (instead of just visiting it) , it's getting harder to spot the forgeries and I wanted to get advice and opinions from people who know more about it than me.

Wmr-RHB · #9 08-01-23, 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill A

The 29th Waterloo Regiment ......

I tried to capture this in a schematic form: The Royal Highland Fusiliers of Canada

The Canadian · #10 17-01-23, 05:56 PM

Here are the photos of the badge in question, the first batch of photos were rough looking. I did a retake on a white background (with a macro lens) to capture as much detail as possible. Though the LED lighting is giving them a bit of a strange sparkling effect.

I had used the examples from the forum to compare the makers marks before I bought too.